December 21st, 2015
Dr. Frank Liou was mentioned in an article from engineering.com titled Material advances in metal 3D printing.
The article touches on Drs Liou and Sarangapani’s use of 3D printing to make new materials:
“Missouri University of Science and Technology researchers Frank Liou, the Michael and Joyce Bytnar Professor of Product Innovation and Creativity, and Jagannanthan Sarangapani, William A. Rutledge-Emerson Electrical Co. Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are developing materials not currently in existence with the aid of 3D printers.
They hope to create new metal materials that are stronger and lighter than conventional ones. The benefit is that these materials may be less expensive and more efficient to manufacture. The researchers call their process cyber manufacturing technology, and it includes additive manufacturing process modeling, sensor network and seamless process integration.
The materials that result from this cyber manufacturing are known as Structural Amorphous Metals (SAMs). Like other powder-based 3D printing techniques, a laser melts blown powder metal that is deposited layer by layer to create objects. The key is to get the cooling rate correct so that the metal is amorphous instead of its natural state of crystalline formation.”